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Three former Lawrence University students have been recognized by the Northeast Chapter of Wisconsin Visual Artists with a merit prize.

“a^2 + b^2 = c^2” by Eryn Blagg ’18

Eryn Blagg, Omaha, Neb., Kori Looker, Weyauwega, and Rachael Wuensch, Reedsburg, all of whom graduated on June 10, were named recipients of the WVA’s merit prize, which is presented annually for outstanding student artwork at the college level.

Blagg is a sculptor whose work focuses on the intersection of art and math. “In a quest to prove theorems, mathematicians are guided by aesthetics as much as intellectual curiosity,” Blagg wrote in her artist statement. “As an artist I am similarly driven by creativity expression and aesthetics, focusing on creating new objects from nothing, the same way a mathematician creates a logical framework for a proof or problem. My art is an avenue to show that the art world and the math world are the same: complex and beautiful.”

“Amore Mio” by Kori Looker ’18

Looker, also a sculptor, specializes in figurative work rendered abstractly out of carved wood. She said her abstract figurative sculptures “convey the connections possible and expression of emotions within relationships. This work draws inspiration from a variety of sources, from bell hook’s emphasis on caring in ‘Teaching to Transgress’ to Michelangelo’s expression of maternal love and anguish in the ‘Pietà.'”

“Scarlet Sphere” by Rachael Wuensch ’18

Wuensch’s work combines printmaking with elements of collage. According to artist statement, “personal growth has shifted my interests from representational and symbolic works to more abstract pieces. Using texture, pattern and an intuitive approach. My current work depicts emotion through volume, depth and movement while expanding beyond the picture plane. By combining recycled objects including plastic, fabrics, and wax paper with the printmaking, painting, and embroidery processes, each piece has an independent voice.”

Blagg, Looker and Wuensch all have works in the current Senior Art Exhibitionin Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center Galleries.

Each received a $100 prize and a one-year membership in the Wisconsin Visual Artists organization. The merit award honors the caliber of their art itself and is designed to encourage graduates to continue their work in the visual arts.

AboutLawrenceUniversityFounded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

A reception follows Ramírez’s remarks. Both are free and open to the public. The new exhibition runs through March 9.

“El Viaje,” by Liudmila & Nelson, 2001, gelatin silver print, will be part of the exhibition “The Light in Cuban Eyes: Selections from the Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography.”

The visit by Ramírez, the director of the Cuban national photography archive in Havana, is in conjunction with the exhibition “The Light in Cuban Eyes: Selections from the Madeleine P. Plonsker Collection of Contemporary Cuban Photography” in the Hoffmaster Gallery.

Shot in styles described as “ranging from fabulist to gritty,” the exhibition features photographs taken between 1992-2012, a difficult period in Cuba’s history following the loss of financial support from the former Soviet Union that continues today.

“The Cuban artists represented in the exhibition take the human body as their theme,” said Beth Zinsli, director and curator of the Wriston galleries. “They examine its capacity for movement and stillness, its use in ritualized gestures and private habits and its capacity for joy, desire, endurance and transformation.”

“Profile with Haystack (Whitelaw, Wisconsin)” by Julie Lindemann and John Shimon, 2010, tea-toned cyanotype with Kamar varnish, is among the images featured in the exhibition “Through the Lens: Recent Acquisitions in Photography.”

The Leech Gallery showcases new additions to Lawrence’s permanent collection in “Through the Lens: Recent Acquisitions in Photography.” The exhibition features two images by Lawrence studio art faculty John Shimon and the late Julie Lindemann. Other images in the exhibition came to Lawrence as part of The Museum Project, which places work by contemporary photographers into museum and gallery collections like the Wriston.

“Pulped Under Pressure,” which examines the art of handmade paper, will be featured in the Kohler Gallery. Incorporating a wide range of materials — junk mail, egg cartons, ripped denim jeans, bedsheets and even heirloom plants — this group of seven female artists use printmaking, letterpress, papercutting and installation to create art that combines contemporary issues with history and craft.

“The diversity of handmade paper forms included in this exhibition is really exciting,” said Zinsli. “These artists are expanding the boundaries of traditional papermaking practices while also examining pressing issues like human impact on the environment, each with a visually stunning presentation.”

Two of the artists involved in the exhibition, Reni Gower and Melissa Potter, will demonstrate papermaking techniques at Lawrence Feb. 1 and 2. They will also deliver a public talk about their work Feb. 1 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston galleries. The “Pulped Under Pressure” exhibition and community programs are generously supported by AZCO, Inc.

The Wriston Art Center is open Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon – 4 p.m.; closed Mondays. Free and open to the public. For more information, 832-6621.

About Lawrence UniversityFounded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

The creative talents of 12 Lawrence University student art majors will be showcased in the annual Senior Major Exhibition opening Friday, May 26 in the Wriston Art Center galleries. The exhibition, which is free and open to the public, runs through July 2.

“This year’s senior studio art majors are really pushing the boundaries of visual art by incorporating sound, found digital elements, video game aesthetics and virtual reality into their pieces,” said Beth Zinsli, director and curator of the Wriston Art Center galleries. “For students working in more traditional media like photography, painting and printmaking, concerns ranging from the search for personal identity to the current moment of cultural anxiety permeate their presentations.”

An inkjet print from Noah Gunther’s “Mystery Ocean” virtual reality program and installation.

AboutLawrenceUniversityFounded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Arthur Thrall taught art at Lawrence from 1964 until his retirement in 1990.

A celebration of former Lawrence University art professor Arthur Thrall’s skills and imagination as an award-winning printmaker and painter highlights the newest exhibition in Lawrence’s Wriston Art Center galleries.

During a 26-year teaching career at Lawrence — Thrall retired in 1990 but remained an active artist in retirement — he established an international reputation for works inspired by sources as diverse as calligraphy and computers, music and microchips.

Covering three broad themes — calligraphy, musical notation and lyrical lines — the exhibition features a wide array of media and print-making processes, from intaglio and relief prints to gouache and oil paintings.

A video by professional photographer Mark Heffron, “Orchestrated Lines,” that documents Thrall creating the print “Confluence” will be shown during the exhibition, while the plate for that print and some of Thrall’s printmaking tools also will be displayed.

Beth Zinsli, director and curator of the Wriston Art Center galleries, called Thrall “a legend in the Wisconsin arts community.”

“Etude,” acrylic on canvas, will be one of Arthur Thrall’s works in the “Tribute to a Master Artist” exhibition.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to showcase this stunning array of Arthur’s complex and multilayer works in a variety of media,” said Zinsli. “I’m confident viewers will find his work aesthetically pleasing and intellectually engaging.”

His prints and paintings appeared in more than 500 exhibitions around the world and many found homes in the permanent collections of the British Museum, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Tate Gallery, the Smithsonian Institute, the Library of Congress and the Chicago Art Institute, among others.

A native of Milwaukee, Thrall was one of 21 members of the Milwaukee-Downer College faculty who came to Lawrence in 1964 as part of the consolidation with the former all-women’s college. He died at the age of 88 in March, 2015.

During his career, Thrall was recognized by the art community with more than 75 awards, including the Lifetime Award from the Society of American Graphic Artists in New York in 2013. He also received the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Shannon Sullivan’s”Interactive Bubble Array” will be among the featured works in the exhibition “FACET.”

In addition to “Tribute to a Master Artist,” the Leech and Hoffmaster galleries host “FACET: Diverse Works by Women in the West.” The show features five female artists from the American West — Renee Brown, Natalie Macellaio, Jessica McCambly, Lesli Robertson and Shannon Sullivan — who work with “heavy” sculpture materials, including metals, clay, concrete, wood and glass. Their work, reflecting deep consideration of the virtues and limitations of their chosen medium, references the natural world, including geologic, chemical and biological processes.

The Wriston Art Center galleries are free and open to the public Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday noon – 4 p.m.; closed Mondays. For more information on the exhibition, 920-832-6890.

AboutLawrenceUniversityFounded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

The satirical wit and vivid imagination of Wisconsin-based printmaker Warrington Colescott will be featured in Lawrence University’s second annual summer exhibition series at the Wriston Art Center Galleries. “The Artwork of Warrington Colescott” opens July 15 and runs through Aug. 16.

The galleries’ summer series is designed to engage the Fox Valley community in a conversation about artworks and artists of the Midwest.

With an international reputation for his innovative techniques, Colescott has applied his unique interpretative skills to historical and contemporary subject matter ranging from the Lewis and Clark expedition to the on-field dominance of the Green Bay Packers. Much of his work explores themes centered around politics, the follies and horrors of war, abuse of power and wealth and relationships between men and women.

In addition to highlights from Lawrence’s own permanent collection, the exhibition also includes Colescott’s complete “History of Printmaking” series, in which he blends historical information on the development of printmaking techniques with his own humorous interpretations of events.

A one-time political cartoonist and former professor at the University of Wisconsin, where he taught for 37 years, Colescott, now 94, makes his home in Hollandale, Wis.

AboutLawrenceUniversityFounded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.